Whether your dreams are exciting or scary, most of them are in bright, vivid colors. By the time you are pushing 60 though, most of your dreams will be a bland black and white.

This depressing possibility was recently published in the psychology journal Dreaming. The researchers asked a group of over 1,300 people twice during a 16-year interval about the color of their dreams. The results from the two surveys show that 80% of respondents younger than 30 had colorful dreams. This percentage gradually fell to 20% for those in their 60s.

There is one ray of light for those who want to keep their bright, vivid dreams. The study did suggest that color TV may increase the longevity of colorful dreams, an effect that was hinted at in earlier studies. Despite what your parents said, all that time you spent watching the boob tube as a kid may have been good for you and your dreams. [Dreaming via Disassociated; Shutterstock/Vlue]